Former UH, Cowboys great Newhouse dies

DALLAS — Robert Newhouse, who played running back for the University of Houston and professionally for the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 64.

Robert Newhouse starred at the University of Houston before playing in three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

Newhouse’s son, Rodd Newhouse, says his father died Tuesday at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, after a battle with heart disease.

Newhouse had suffered a stroke in 2010.

During a three-year career (1969-71) at UH, Newhouse rushed for 2,961 yards and was a second-team All-American selection. He still holds several school records, including the single-season rushing mark with 1,757 yards in 1971, 100-yard games in a season (10) and career (16), consecutive 100-yard games in a season (seven) and career (eight) and career 200-yard games (four).

“We are very saddened to hear of the untimely passing of one of our own, Robert Newhouse,” UH coach Tony Levine said in a statement. “An accomplished and talented member of the Houston football family on the field, he is also an example to our current student-athletes on how to live life off the field. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert’s wife, Nancy, and their four children.”

Newhouse was inducted into the UH Athletics Hall of Honor in 1977.

A second-round pick, the burly Newhouse played 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He retired in 1983 as the Cowboys’ fourth-leading rusher with 4,784 yards.

In the 1977 Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos, Newhouse threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Golden Richards on a halfback option to help seal the win.

Newhouse was born in Longview and went to Galilee High School in Hallsville before enrolling at UH. All three Cougars teams he played on finished the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 20.

He was taken in the second round of the draft by Dallas. He led the Cowboys in rushing in 1975 with 930 yards, but became most well known as a fullback leading the way for future Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, who Dallas drafted in 1977.

Newhouse is survived by his wife, Nancy, daughters, Dawnyel and Shawntel, and sons Rodd and Reggie, who played for the Arizona Cardinals in 2004-05.